City Council’s Budget and Finance
Committee on April 8 moved forward with two controversial measures that
will create an executive project director position for the streetcar
project while allowing the city to rehire retirees while still paying
their pensions.

After months of deliberation, the Ohio
Bureau of Motor Vehicles on March 29 said it will grant driver’s
licenses to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients,
which means the children of unauthorized immigrants now qualify for Ohio
driver’s licenses.

Financial giant Western & Southern
last week accused city officials and other Anna Louise Inn advocates of
repeatedly deceiving the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) to obtain federal funds for the Inn’s long-awaited, $13 million
renovation.

Hamilton County Judge Robert Winkler
announced March 20 that he will extend the restraining order on the
city’s parking plan until April 3, potentially delaying any ruling on
the city’s plan to lease its parking assets to the Port of Greater
Cincinnati Development Authority for another two weeks.

Gov. John Kasich on March 21 seemed to
come out in support of same-sex civil unions during an interview with a
Cleveland TV station, saying, “I just think marriage is between a man
and a woman, but if you want to have a civil union, that’s fine with
me.”

Mayoral candidate John Cranley, who opposes the parking plan and streetcar, says the city should redirect funding from the streetcar to the MLK/I-71 Interchange, but the funding is specifically attached to the streetcar project.